And Joshua made him sharp knives, and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.
All Commentaries on Joshua 5:3 Go To Joshua 5
John of Damascus
AD 749
Now, this was a figure of baptism, for, just as circumcision cuts off from the body a part which is not useful but a useless superfluity, so by holy baptism are we circumcised of sin. It is obvious that sin is a superfluity of concupiscence and of no use. For it is impossible for anyone not to have any concupiscence at all or to be entirely without any taste for pleasure, but the useless part of pleasure, this is the sin which holy baptism circumcises.
